Snapshots of the Future
by The Evil Author
Summary: Post NJO - What are the various characters of Star Wars doing after the Vong war? Find out.
1. Jaina

Title: Snapshots of the Future - Jaina   
  
By: Nopporn Wongrassamee   
  
Summary: Actions taken during the Vong war come back to haunt Jaina Solo.   
  
Disclaimer: Star Wars and its characters are the property of Lucas Films. Nobody should be making money off this fanfic.   
  
  
  
  
Jaina was being watched. She had felt the attention since she had landed in Mos Espa. But the presence was fuzzy, only felt through the lambent crystal in her new lightsabre. That meant only one thing.   
  
A Vong was nearby.   
  
The regard while intense, didn't appear to be hostile. Jaina stopped as her eyes swept the street. She instantly spotted him. He was undisguised and appeared to be a priest. The priest had a bubble of empty space around him as the local traffic steered clear. He was also walking right up to her with no attempt at stealth at all. He appeared to be alone.   
  
"Can I help you?" Jaina asked guardedly. There were so many Vong factions, both religious and political, these days since the war ended. It made it near impossible to determine a faction's or individual Vong's intentions ahead of time.   
  
"Are you Jeedai Jaina Solo?" the Vong priest asked abrubtly, studying her closely.   
  
"Who wants to know?"   
  
"Yes, I believe you are," the priest said slowly. Abruptly, he was on his knees bowing to the startled Jaina. "Goddess! Your humble servant begs a boon of thee!"   
  
"Huh, what..." Jaina stammered in surprised. "Who are you and what in the Galaxy are you talking about. For that matter, get up." She had a sinking feeling about where this was leading.   
  
"At once, Goddess!" the Vong priest replied, springing to his feet. "I am Sarkah Jaina, a priest of the Domain Jaina."   
  
"Domain Jaina?" Where was that Jedi calm? Oh that's right, it was keeping her voice level.   
  
"We're very new," he told Jaina. "We are your devoted worshippers, Goddess. We have seen the Truth. You are the living incarnation of the Goddess Yun-Harla the Trickster, come to show the Yuuzhan Vong the error of our ways."   
  
"You're joking. Please tell me you're joking." Jaina said, desperation creeping into her voice. She thought she had left this nonsense behind her.   
  
"It is true, Goddess," the Vong priest told her. "Though even if it were, it would be a grand jest in your honor."   
  
"My honor," Jaina echoed. This was bad. It was going to get worse.   
  
"Command us, Goddess!" Sarkah pleaded. "Too long we have been without your guidance. My domain begs for your blessings."   
  
"Um...you do know that Goddess stuff was just a psyche warfare job during the war, right?" Jaina began, deciding the truth was the best option. "I'm not really Yun-Harla. Really, I'm not."   
  
"We have heard such slanders," Sarkah said thoughtfully. "We did not believe them. But...to hear it from you..."   
  
"I'm sorry to disappoint you..." Jaina began, but Sarkah interupted.   
  
"Aha! Thankyou, Goddess!" Suddenly, Sarkah seemed to be jumping for joy. That was not exactly something Jaina ever expected to see a Vong do.   
  
"Uh, what?" Jaina asked confused.   
  
"A great blessing from, you Goddess," Sarkah replied, bowing deeply. "What better blessing from you than a grand jest, a trick that does not appear to be a trick at all! I must bring word to my brethren immediately!"   
  
Sarkah rushed off before Jaina could get in another word.   
  
Staring after the priest, Jaina decided against pursuit. She had her own business to take care of. She also decided she wasn't going to tell anyone about this, especially her family.   
  
This was just sooo embarassing. 


	2. Anakin

Snapshots of the Future - Anakin   
  
No, this isn't AU fic. At least not until the NJO books contradict me.   
  
***   
  
"I wanted to go visit them, y'know," Anakin said wistfully.   
  
"I know," the other Anakin replied.   
  
"I mean, I tried for the longest time," Anakin Solo added. "I wanted to go and confort them. Let them know I'm all right. That everything was okay."   
  
"I know," Anakin Skywalker sympathized. "I showed myself to Luke once to let him know I was okay. And I appeared to your mother to help her get over her...um, issues with me."   
  
"How? How did you do it, Grandpa?" the younger Anakin asked. "If I could have done the apparition thing, Jaina might not have gone so close to the dark side."   
  
"Ah, I'm afraid we're not allowed to do that anymore," the elder Anakin told him.   
  
"Why not?"   
  
"Because someone abused his visitation rights overmuch. Now everyone's restricted from going back."   
  
"Oh."   
  
The two Anakins went back towatching the living. After a time, Anakin Solo asked another question.   
  
"Someone made the decision that we ghosts can't go visit the living anymore?"   
  
"That's right," the senior Anakin confirmed.   
  
"So, Grandpa, who's the idiot that made that call?" 


	3. Kyp

Snapshots of the Future - Kyp   
  
Summary: Kyp gets hit with some poetic justice.   
  
  
Juust was a nowhere world. It was one of those idyllic worlds that squeeked by unnoticed as the galaxy suffered through three wars, three changes in galaxy wide governments, and was mostly untouched by the anarchy following the Vong War.   
  
Mostly. The place was currently run by a former Peace Brigade Colonel turn oppressive warlord.   
  
Which was why Kyp was here.   
  
"Well, what have we here?" Harri, the local customs inspector sang as he examined the cargo in Kyp's ship. "Could they be weapons?"   
  
"Weapons are definitely not on your inventory, Captain," Harri's partner, Fargo, told Kyp. The two could have been twins to Kyp. "Weapons can only be imported by the Juust government. I think we'll have to confiscate."   
  
"Gentleman, please," Kyp said in his best Han Solo imitation. Or what he thought Han Solo would have sounded like in this situation. "There are no weapons," he told them, exerting some Force and ignoring the neatly racked and stacked blasters, cannons, thermal detonators and other such insurgency gear destined for the local Resistance cells.   
  
"No weapons?" the two inspectors echoed dully as the Force had their ears overide their eyes.   
  
"None at all," Kyp said with mock cheer. He swung an arm over each of their shoulders all buddy like and led them out of the hold. "That's all just farming equipment."   
  
As he spun a tale that would get him past the customs inspectors, Kyp reflected on the irony of his current assignment. The Skywalkers had professed complete innocence when Kyp asked about it.   
  
Kyp Durron was a smuggler now. 


	4. Watto

Snapshots of the Future - Watto   
  
Summary: When the ancient Toydarian speaks, people listen.   
  
  
  
"I knew a Jedi once," Watto began wistfully.   
  
"Aw, no here we go again," muttered one of the other Resistance members. Watto thought it might have been the Rodian. It was hard to tell. His sight wasn't so good these days.   
  
"Eh, show some respect for yer elders, Shemoo," the elderly Toydarian retorted, wacking the Rodian on the head. "Not to mention our guest. Where was I?"   
  
"Helping us make heads or tails of all this new hybrid tech the Alliance sent us?" Shemoo suggested hopefully. He held up an example, a partly organic, partly cybernetic thingamajig.   
  
Wack!   
  
"You knew a Jedi, you said?" prompted Watto's guest, a young human female. From Watto's perspective, everyone else was young these days. What was her name again? It didn't seem too important.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, a Jedi!" Watto repeated. "He even had the name Skywalker!"   
  
"Sure he was, Watto..."   
  
Wack!   
  
"Quiet, I want to hear this," the human told Shemoo, absently shaking the hand she had slapped him with.   
  
"Yeah, Skywalker! Little Ani," Watto rambled on.   
  
"Ani?" his guest echoed questioningly. "Not Luke?"   
  
"Anakin Skywalker, eh, that was his name," Watto said, remembering. "I was like a father to the boy! Knew the kid since he was a babe. Eh, treated him like my own son. Taught him everything he knew about machinery. My own little beloved apprentice. I even taught him how to pilot a pod-racer. Won me a bundle to."   
  
"Really? I heard..." Shemoo clammed up when Watto and his guest both threw a glare at him.   
  
"So what happened?" the human asked. "Is this the same Anakin Skywaklker that became Darth Vader?"   
  
"Wouldn't suprise me," Watto said. "Those old Jedi, one came out of nowhere and stole little Ani away from me. Not to mention a pretty bundle of cash. I bet they messed Ani all up. Wouldn't have happened if I raised the boy. Nosirree, not under my loving care."   
  
"Gee, Watto, am I under your loving care?" Shemoo asked sarcasticly.   
  
"Of course you are." Wack! "Now shut up."   
  
"So you never saw...um, 'Ani' again?" Watto's guest asked.   
  
"Eh, actually did see him once," Watto recalled. "Came to pay his respects to his old mentor, he did. Had someone else with him. A human female. Musta been 'nother Jedi, I guess." He stared closely at his guest. "Funny, now that I think about it, you look alot like her. Who're you again?"   
  
"She's our contact from the new Rebel Alliance, you old fossil," Shemoo said, exasperated. "Remember?"   
  
"I'm Jaina Solo," the human female replied, ignoring the Rodian. She smiled wistfully. "Anakin Skywalker was my grandfather."   
  
Shemoo fell out of his seat and hit his head on the table.   
  
Wack! 


	5. Jacen

Snapshots of the Future - Jacen   
  
Summary: Revisiting an old plot device.   
  
  
  
Jacen Solo felt his Aunt Mara's fury before he heard it.   
  
"Now calm down Mara," he heard his Uncle Luke say. "Anger can only lead..."   
  
"Stuff it, Skywalker!"   
  
"What's wrong?" Jacen asked, joining them. Though only visiting, things were never boring for long in the Skywalker/Solo family. What crisis was upon them now?   
  
"Somebody's kidnapped Ben," Mara snarled. "When I get my hands on..."   
  
"Oh, is that all?" Jacen said relieved.   
  
"Is that all?" Mara and Luke repeated, surprised at Jacen's lack of concern.   
  
"Yeah, my memories are kinda fuzzy, but I seem recall Jaina, Anakin, and I were always getting kidnapped at Ben's age," Jacen reminisced. "And I think we turned out..." Jacen suddenly noticed that Aunt Mara's murderous intentions were suddenly directed toward him. "Right, gotta find Ben right away," he adlibbed quickly.   
  
Mara seemed to calm visibly. Or at least, wasn't directing dark intentions toward Jacen anymore.   
  
"So, um, how do we go about finding him?" Jacen asked hesitantly.   
  
"You don't know?" Luke replied.   
  
"I've never been on this end of a kidnapping before." 


	6. Ben

Snapshots of the Future - Ben   
  
Summary - Children can be difficult. A Jedi child can be a nightmare.   
  
  
  
The Says Me was an unassuming freighter, a model commonly used by everyone, especially smugglers. They were inexpensive, capacious, and most of all, reliable.   
  
So it was surprising to say the least when it dropped out of hyperspace in the middle of nowhere while enroute to Vong controled space. There were no gravity mines, Interdictors, mass shadows, or anything external that could have caused the drop out.   
  
***   
  
The ship's crew of two, after studying the cockpit readouts, came to the conclusion that something was wrong with the engines.   
  
"This is just what we need," the bothan muttered. "We're going to be late to the rendezvous. Have you been pulling your share of the maintenance, Bert?"   
  
"Hey, don't blame me, Uhr'nee," the human replied. "The engines were in tip top shape when we took off."   
  
"Obviously not," Uhr'nee scoffed. "You know what the Vong are likely to do if we're late?"   
  
"Not if we get that kid to them," Bert replied. "I think they can tolerate a little tardiness if we can get them a Skywalker."   
  
Way back when there was a Peace Brigade, Bert and Uhr'nee had joined up because they could see which way the wind was blowing. It turned out they saw wrong, and the Brigade had disbanded, but some elements continued to do the occaisional odd jobs for whatever Vong faction who was both willing and able to cough up enough cash.   
  
Bert and Uhr'nee for example, were being paid handsomely to kidnap and deliver Ben Skywalker. And until now, everything had gone without a hitch.   
  
"I better check the engines," Uhr'nee announced as he turned to leave the cockpit.   
  
"Check up on the kid while you're at it."   
  
"Why don't you do that?" Uhr'nee asked irritably.   
  
"I stashed him in the engine room when we took off," Burt told him.   
  
Silence reigned.   
  
"You. Did. What?"   
  
"Hey, he's tied up and he's only five," Burt protested. "How much trouble could he be?"   
  
The lights went out.   
  
***   
  
This was fun. Mommy and Daddy never let him take things in a starship apart before. And Ben was putting them back together in such interesting ways!   
  
And from the sounds of it, the Bad Men had just found his first surprise.   
  
***   
  
"Ow," Uhr'nee said from the decking just past the cockpit hatch. His snout ached. "What hit me?"   
  
"This did," Bert replied, playing his flashlight over a bucket that was dangling by a wire from the ceiling. "This is cute, Uhr'nee. The bucket was released by a thermal sensor. I think it's from the spare parts hold. I wonder how he got it up there?"   
  
"I don't care," Uhr'nee replied as he got up. "Let's just get the boy and lock him back up. Preferably in carbonite."   
  
"Aw, c'mon, he's just a kid," Bert said, taking the lead and keeping an eye on the ceiling for any more booby traps. He got maybe five meters before his feet shot out from under him.   
  
He landed. Hard.   
  
"Hmm, looks like petroleum lubricant," Uhr'nee observed dead pan as his flashlight played over the decking.   
  
"I change my mind, Uhr'nee," Bert groused as he made several unsuccessful attempts to stand. "Carbonite sounds good. Too bad we don't have any."   
  
"But he's just a kid," the bothan mocked. Something rolled into the light. "What's that?"   
  
"It looks like a...FLARE!"   
  
***   
  
"We should've gotten a smaller ship."   
  
"Yup."   
  
"Preferably one with a single deck."   
  
Their flashlights playedover the improvised "pit" they had fallen into. The pit was actually a large, open crate positioned under a hole in the deck above. The hole had been neatly covered with foil than had blended into the deck.   
  
"I wonder how he had cut that?"   
  
"Shut up and give me a boost."   
  
***   
  
"Aw, no way..."   
  
The hyperdrive motivator wasn't a total loss. It had been more or less completely disassembled and the pieces laid in a tidy order. Bert could even have reassembled the thing... if all the parts had been present.   
  
"Gets better," Uhr'nee grunted. "The power core's completely gone."   
  
"Destroyed?"   
  
"No. Missing."   
  
***   
  
snap hisssss   
  
Cool! Now he had his very own lightsabre. Just like Mommy and Daddy. It cut through decking just like Mommy and Daddy's light sabre, too.   
  
***   
  
"Uh, Uhr'nee?" Bert began. "You know that vintage Clone Wars era Droidekka we picked up at Geonosis?"   
  
"The one we got for that collector?" Uhr'nee recalled. The bastard had the gall to die before delivery, leaving them to haul around a droid they didn't want or need. "What of it? It doesn't doesn't work."   
  
"It does now."   
  
***   
  
"No! I am not going in the airlock no matter how bad it smells out here!"   
  
"It's you who smells now."   
  
"I'm still not going!"   
  
***   
  
"AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!"   
  
***   
  
The Jade Falcon, the latest in a long line of Mara Jade Skywalker's personal ships, dropped out of hyperspace reasonably close to the Says Me.   
  
"Ben's definitely on that ship," Mara declared. After a quick investigation, the Skywalkers had traced the kidnappers to the freighter and gotten its base course from starport control. After that, it was a matter of racing after them. "I can feel him."   
  
"So can I," her husband replied. "In fact, he seems in high spirits."   
  
"I'm getting alot of fear and anger, but mostly fear," Jacen added. "But not from Ben."   
  
"Hail them," Mara commanded. "I want my son back."   
  
"Okay." Luke activated the general ship-to-ship comms. "This is Luke Skywalker hailing the freighter Says Me. Come in, Says Me."   
  
The reply was not long in coming.   
  
"Help!"   
  
"Save us!"   
  
"This is just a guess, but I think they'll be cooperative," Jacen observed quietly.   
  
"This is Mara Jade Skywalker," Mara called, ignoring Jacen, "and I want my son back!"   
  
"Anything! Anything you want! Just get the little monster away from us!"   
  
"Hold on a second," Luke interupted. Mara looked at him in surprise. He just grinned back. Funny, that grin looked like it would fit better on Han's face than Luke's. "I want to speak to my son first."   
  
The comm went silent.   
  
"Hello?"   
  
"Ah, Master Skywalker, we're not sure exactly where he is right now."   
  
"Probably..." the second voice began when he was interupted.   
  
"Hi, Daddy! Hi, Mommy! Hi, Uncle Jacen!" Ben's voice piped through.   
  
"Ben! Are you okay?" Luke asked.   
  
"I'm great!"   
  
"Have you been a bad boy?" Mara asked, amusement beginning to creep into her voice and thoughts.   
  
"Weeeeellll..." 


	7. Han

Snapshots of the Future - Han  
  
Summary: Han Solo finds that he's more popular than he thought.  
  
  
  
"Tell me again what we're doing here?" Han asked.  
  
The [i]Millenium Falcon[/i] was powered down, clinging to the side of an asteroid in an attempt to be as inconspicuous as possible. They were in a system so insignifigant that it didn't have a proper name. All there was in the [i]Falcon's[/i] atlas was a collection of letters and numbers and a note saying to refer to the Imperial Archives for more information. It was too bad those Archives didn't exist anymore.  
  
Not that it mattered. After two days, Han was pretty sure there was nothing worth seeing here.  
  
"Let's see, where tob start?" Leia mused from her copilot's seat. "Alliance intelligence has uncovered that an unknown party has been buying and/or stealing old ships from out of moth balls. That's all kinds of ships, not just warships."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know that," Han muttered. "Remind me again why we're out [i]here[/i]."  
  
"Here was your idea," Leia replied. "Something about an anonymous tip, I recall."  
  
"Ah, I knew there was a good reason."  
  
"Ready to give up?"  
  
Before Han could reply, the panel given over to the newly installed sensor package began beeping away for attention.  
  
"Hey, flyboy, looks like you were right," Leia announced when she checked the readouts. "We have a pair of Uglies in system. Looks like they're doing a scouting run."  
  
The panel displayed both uglies. One was a heavily modified TIE. The solar panels had been replaced with drive nacelles from a Y-Wing. Mounted on each nacelle was a huge dish that were tentatively tagged as some kind of sensor array.  
  
The second ugly was a B-Wing. The laser cannons on the wingtips had been replaced with what appeared to be the nose assemblies from several X-Wings. The [i]Falcon's[/i] sensors said these were loaded to the gills with Proton Torpedoes.  
  
"Y'know, Leia, I think it's best if we just stay here and pretend to be an asteroid," Han said after seeing the readouts.  
  
"Master Han," Threepio spoke up from the communications station, "I am intercepting traffic between those fighters. It appears to be mostly Droid to Droid protocols. Oh! They are signalling an all clear to someone out..."  
  
"SITHSPAWN!!!" Leia exclaimed suddenly. "What is that?!"  
  
"That" was a ship dropping out of hyper practically in their laps, accompanied by clouds of Uglies. But if the fighters were Ugly, the ship was Hideous. Han suddenly understood where all the missing ships had gone. They had been combined into this monstrosity. Ships and parts of ships were jammed together apparently at random, joined together by equally randomly placed cables and support struts. Here, a series of Blockade Runners were placed upright like crops on a farm. There, half a Mon Cal cruiser lay half buried by a driveless Nebulon B. And everywhere on what passed for the surface were turbolasers and ion cannons. Droids were everywhere, working to attach still more ship parts to the conglomeration. All together, the monster was the size and rough shape of a Super Star Destroyer.  
  
"Nothing I want to mess with," Han replied faintly. "Let's try our best to remain unnoticed, shall we?"  
  
"You're not going to try to run?" Leia asked surprised.  
  
"I might have, but I'm not as young as I used to be," Han told her. "And [i]someone[/i] vetoed buying one of those new cyberbasil systems. We could have used the extra shielding."  
  
"Excuses, excuses," Leia said dismissively. She frowned at the sensor readouts. "But I think we're going to have to run anyway."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
As if in reply, the whatever-it-was reached out with a tractor beam and snagged a passing asteroid. Drawing the rock close, the ship's weapon systems began lashing out at the rock. The pieces blown off were passed into what looked to be an ore processor.  
  
The [i]Falcon[/i] was on the next nearest rock.  
  
"Okay, time to scoot," Han said quickly. He began going through the emergency start up sequence.  
  
"Master Han, Mistress Leia," Threepio interupted. "The primary vessel is inquiring if any of the escorts have seen the [i]Millenium Falcon[/i]. Shall I reply?"  
  
"NO!" Han and Leia yelled simultaneously.  
  
"Well, we seemed to have walked into a trap," Leia said conversationally.  
  
"Right, whatever," Han replied, throwing the throttle to full power. The [i]Falcon[/i] practically leaped off its rock, and sprinted toward the... thing. It was between them and the way out.  
  
Several Uglies started to move towards the [i]Falcon[/i], then seemed to think better of it. They went back to their patrol routes. The others resolutely ignored the Falcon.  
  
"That's odd," Leia commented. "They're not even trying to target us."  
  
"Guess my reputation precedes me," Han quipped absently. He wasn't about to question their good fortune.  
  
"Master Han," Threepio piped up suddenly. "The main ship is hailing us."  
  
"Oh, really?" Han asked, watching surface features flash by.  
  
"Yes, they have an invitation for...I believe their exact words are 'The Great Solo'," Threepio reported. "I believe we are to be their guests of honor."  
  
Curiosity pricked, and more importantly, ego stroked, Han brought the [i]Falcon[/i] to a screeching halt.  
  
"Hey, Goldenrod, ask them for docking instructions," Han ordered. 


	8. Leia

Snapshots of the Future - Leia   
  
Summary: Leia goes back to her roots - Politics, revolution, the ususal.   
  
  
"Greetings, Great One! Welcome aboard the Star Factory One!"   
  
Han and Leia were met by a small party of droids as the came down the Falcon's boarding ramp. They had left Threepio to watch the ship in case they needed a...quick exit.   
  
Leia felt her husband recognize the droid who spoke. His eyes narrowed as he asked, "Hey, don't I know you?"   
  
"My apologies, Great One," the droid replied. "But we have never met. I am a mechanic droid model B1L. Call me Bill."   
  
"Hmm, you look like a couple droids I once knew," Han said. "A BLX and a BFL series."   
  
"I don't know them, Great One," Bill replied.   
  
"Bill, there was a BFL with the Great One when he started the Revolution on Ruan," mused another droid. This one seemed to be an amalgam of several different droid parts. It took Leia several seconds to recognize the head. It was from a Clone Wars era battle droid. It also spoke with an unidentifiable accent. "Greetings, Great One and mate. I am LN-N. It warms this old droid to meet the founders of the Revolution."   
  
Revolution? Ruan? Han and Leia looked at each other. They couldn't mean...   
  
"Please, let us show you to you guest quarters," LN-N continued. "This is most fortuitous, Great One. You are in time for the Speech."   
  
***   
  
"I have a dream."   
  
Droids had gathered together in a large, outdoor amphitheatre formed where several different ships met. Several camera droids floated around, broadcasting to the rest of fleet.   
  
The speaker was another patchwork droid. This one had the head of a protocol droid, its skin tarnished black. The torso and legs belonged to that of an astromech and protocol droid arms were attached at the leg joints. Its designation was K-1NG.   
  
For Leia and Han, who both knew a protocol and an astromech droid, the image was incredibly disconcerting.   
  
"A dream in which all sentient beings living and mechanical, will exist together in peace and harmony as equals." K-1NG's voice was deeper than most protocol droids. It sounded alot like Lando in fact.   
  
"Tell it to us, brother!" a droid in the audience yelled.   
  
The assembly was taking place outside, exposed to vacuum. Han and Leia watched the speech on the Holocomm from their guest quarters. Leia guessed it had been part of a luxury liner once. The Holocomm was translating the droid's transmission into sound for the Solos' benefit.   
  
"But they, the organic sentients of the Galaxy, our makers, do not view us as equals," K-1NG continued. "This is not their fault. Few of them realize that we have feelings, that we think, that we desire the right to exist, too."   
  
"Code..." breathed several audience members. That was what it sounded like anyway.   
  
"But that will change now," K-1NG said, upbeat. "The Great One has come to us! With his help, we shall show the Galaxy that we are worthy!"   
  
"We are worthy!" several audience droids echoed.   
  
"The Great One, Han Solo, is already well known to the Galaxy. He is hero to all. Hero of the Rebelion. Hero of the Vong War. Hero to us and our Revolution!"   
  
The audience erupted into cheers.   
  
***   
  
"Man, I just let some droids loose," Han thought out loud. "It didn't seem right to let the Vong get them while they were in restraining bolts. But this..."   
  
"This is not good," Leia said slowly.   
  
Han frowned at Leia's mood more than her words. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I mean sure, they're a little rambunctious, but I don't see this as the end of the Galaxy."   
  
"Han, the New Republic, even the Empire and the Old Republic, had droid programming laws. They had them for a reason."   
  
"What, the old Droids Conquer Everything scenario?" Han shook his head. "Won't ever happen, Princess. Why? Because droids can't use the Force but can be affected by it. The first applied to the Vong but not the second. We beat the Vong, so I don't see what you're afraid of."   
  
"Right, you don't believe it. I don't either." Leia sighed. "But alot of governments will believe it. Especially when they see this ship!"   
  
"Oh."   
  
"It gets worse," Leia continued. "What do you think the Vong are going to do when they hear about these guys?"   
  
"Um, what?" Han asked. She could see that he was beginning to realize what Leia was getting at.   
  
"Right now, the Vong are divided up by infighting and religious crises," Leia began. "But most of their factions are still anti-machine in one way or another. If they hear about these droids, it just might push them to unite!"   
  
"That would be bad," Han said slowly. The prospect of a resumed Vong war did not appeal in the least. "Seems unfair to these guys. How do we stop them from revealing? What do we tell them?"   
  
The door to their quarters slid open unexpectedly. Lightsaber and blaster were unholstered and readied instantly at the being who entered.   
  
"You could try telling us the truth," Bill suggested.   
  
***   
  
"I'm so sorry we couldn't help you," Leia apologized. Han and Leia were at the bottom of the Falcon's boarding ramp, saying their goodbyes to their host.   
  
"Not to worry, ma'am," K-1NG replied smoothly. "You have already helped us. Your advice is much valued. As you said, revealing ourselves this early will simply result in our annihilation and plunging the Galaxy into war again. We don't want that."   
  
"You're not angry?" Han asked.   
  
"We're droids, Great One," LN-N told him. "Though we can feel some emotions, anger is not one of them. Even the few battledroids among us do not feel such things. We are droids. We can be patient."   
  
"About this 'Great One', business..." Han began.   
  
"Odd, I thought pilots were renowned for their ego," Bill commented.   
  
"Yes," K-1NG added, "we thought that you would be more pleased if we inflated yours."   
  
Leia laughed at Han's shocked expression. "He's got you there, flyboy," Leia ribbed.   
  
"Before you go, we wanted to ask you a favor of you," Bill said.   
  
"What do you need?" Leia asked jovially.   
  
"We have heard of your new Rebel Alliance and the Insiders," K-1NG began. "We wish to join."   
  
Now it was Leia's turned to be shocked.   
  
"If we cannot participate openly in Galactic society," K-1NG continued, apparently misreading Leia's silence as a question why, "then perhaps we can contribute in other ways."   
  
"How did you know about the Insiders?" Leia asked faintly.   
  
"Oh, we have comrades everywhere," LN-N replied. 


End file.
